Humanity's Hero
by Feeruk
Summary: No galactic organization is without its black marks in history; the Systems Alliance is no exception. On the hunt for Shepard's body, Liara T'soni meets the Alliance's biggest mistake face-to-face as she begins to work alongside operative Naruto Uzumaki.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. This is strictly a work of fanfiction being published without any intention of making a profit.

 **Author's Notes**

 **Warnings:** AU, OOC, Older, Powerful Naruto. Paragon-ish/Soldier Shepard. Relatively heavy canon plot. Though this is tagged as a Naruto / Mass Effect crossover, it will include a handful of characters, history and various other elements from the Overwatch universe as well.

My aim within this story is to portray a significantly older and more jaded Naruto that grew up in a much more technologically advanced universe, so you can expect his basic knowledge, speech and technical skills to correlate to that fact; his backstory will also be notably different in order for me to rationalize certain things about my portrayal of the character. If you typically dislike stories in which the author takes a moderate amount of creative leeway with the personality of a popular crossover character, then you should click away now.

Mass Effect is quite SciFi-y in nature and obviously requires at least some level of description regarding various electronics, weapons, etc… I'll be doing my best to keep mechanical details scientifically accurate, but errors are likely inevitable. I offer my apologies to any gun and/or Sci-Fi enthusiasts who are reading this in advance.

The first few chapters I have planned are meant to be a retelling of the Mass Effect Redemption comic with various changes coming about due to Naruto's inclusion. After this, there will be a time skip that takes the story almost right up to the start of ME 2.

 **Pairings:** I don't want to reveal the actual final pairings seeing as they will tie into the plot somewhat, but for the sake of at least offering a bit of clarity on what to expect, I will reveal the following information:

Shepard will eventually be paired off with one female aboard the Normandy, but the romance won't receive a great deal of – if any – direct screen time. We all know how the main arcs of the possible canon romances play out anyway.

Naruto's pairing is slightly up in the air; he will either end up in a standard relationship with one female like Shepard or be in simultaneous relationships with two different women who know about one another. I'm currently leaning quite heavily towards the standard single pairing, but I wanted to include this explanation as a warning just on the off-chance that I change my mind.

* * *

 **Humanity's Hero**

 **Chapter 1: Meetings**

* * *

' _By the Goddess, how can anyone actually hear each other speak with the music this loud?'_ Walking slowly through the Afterlife with the loud beat of music vibrating through her body, Liara let her eyes wander over the popular nightclub. Asari dancers were on prominent display, dancing around poles on an upraised platform in the center of the large room in remarkable displays of flexibility; individuals of various races and genders were mingling around the place either drinking, dancing or watching people who were dancing. It was a lively place to be sure, but Liara wasn't currently interested in any of the luxuries that it had to offer.

"Doctor T'soni?"

Turning around as someone spoke her name, Liara's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the human man who stood before her. He stood roughly on even height with her, had headful of spiky blond hair and a pair of cerulean blue eyes that were currently boring into her own; he also looked relatively young – twenty or thirty, if she had to guess – but the dark bags under his eyes somehow made him appear older. He was clad in a suit of light armor that had been painted pitch black, the exterior plating bearing enough scratches, singes and other markings that it told a story all on its own.

"Yes?"

"I'm your contact." Reaching forward, he offered his gloved-covered hand in what she quickly recognized as a human handshake. "It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise," she replied with a small nod, reaching out and shaking his hand. "So, you have information on Comm—"

"Not here," he cut her off sharply, holding up his hand in the universal sign for 'stop.' "Too many ears. Let's head out the back and find a private place to talk."

Looking around, Liara immediately noticed no less than three people who quickly turned their gaze away as her eyes wandered over them. Granted, she knew that their lingering eyes could be due to her looks more so than an interest in her conversation, but it was still an unnecessary risk to speak on such a sensitive matter with third parties paying such close attention.

"Agreed. I presume you know this place better than I, so please lead the way."

Nodding, the blond promptly turned and walked further into the bar. Liara briefly questioned why he would do such a thing, but promptly followed along nonetheless. Making sure to keep her eyes on the man guiding her, she quickly picked up on a few more details that she had missed before: the small weapon rack on his upper-back that held various firearms, a dark-red katana sheath somehow attached to the back of his waist and a small white and orange symbol painted onto the back of his armor. The symbol looked remarkably similar to the symbol for peace that she knew humans tended to use, but it clearly wasn't quite the same.

Winding through the nightclub's patrons, Liara quickly found herself being led through a door that led to one of Omega's many hallways. They continued walking for quite some distance before the blond seemingly became content with their privacy, moved off to the side of the hallway and leaned back against the wall.

"We should be relatively safe here. Deactivate the cloak, Feron."

Liara's eyes widened in surprise as a new individual suddenly came into existence crouching down next to the blond. She quickly recognized the man as a Drell with an orange face clad in a set of off-color medium armor and a long, brown trench coat.

"You sure you weren't followed?" Feron's voice bared the unique fluctuation as the rest of his race. "I don't particularly envy getting another wake-up call from Aria's goons."

"We were at first, but they were taken care of. So long as you wiped out the bugs in the area, we should be fine."

"Wait, what?" Eyes widening in surprise, Liara turned her head and looked down the hallway they had traveled. Seeing no one, she returned her gaze to the blond who was now looking directly at her. "We were being followed?"

"Yes. There was a Salarian using a pretty high-tech stealth cloak following us out, but was taken care of as I said." Turning his head, he pointedly displayed the small earpiece that was located in his left eardrum by tapping over it. "My back-up handled the problem."

' _Goddess, I didn't even notice…'_

"Let's move on from that, shall we? I'm sure you would like to know the news we informed you of."

"I would, yes." Snapping out of her prior thoughts, Liara took a deep breath and braced herself. "What is it you've heard?"

"You won't like what we have to say, I'm afraid."

The ominous forewarning Feron uttered hit her heavily, but she did her best not to let it show. Despite her efforts, however, her voice cracked slightly when she spoke again. "Dead?"

"Either that or very close to it. I can't confirm his exact state, but I know they have his body under heavy guard in some kind of stasis pod. They haven't brought in any doctors to look him over, so I'm assuming the worst."

Sorrow immediately threatened to consume her, but she did her best to overcome it. She closed her eyes to keep any tears from dropping in front of strangers, but she had no doubt that the two men in front of her would be able to tell she was emotional; the way she felt her bottom lip quivering would have made it obvious to anyone who knew how to read basic body language.

"I'm sorry to have been the bearer of bad news," Feron said softly, obviously trying to be at least somewhat comforting. "I know you traveled a long way just to hear this."

"I…" she began, but stopped herself as she heard her voice break again. Forcefully clearing her throat, she tried again. "I need to see him for myself."

"Miss T'soni, I—"

"Perhaps I didn't make myself clear." Hearing the Drell about to object, anger quickly overran the sorrow she felt. Glaring in his direction, she continued. "I _need_ to see Shepard for myself."

"It's your money, I suppose," Ferson shrugged. "It's not my call though."

Liara arced a brow and, in response, the Drell simply jerked his head towards the blond man who had remained relatively silent throughout the entire conversation. She quickly met the man's gaze, her defiance still burning brightly in her eyes. They continued their impromptu staring contest for several drawn out moments before the awkward silence it created was broken.

"We know that you were part of Shepard's team, so we fully expected that you two would have been friendly with one another. However, seeing your reaction just now, I think it's clear there was more to it than that. What exactly was your relationship with John Shepard?"

Liara's brow furrowed and her lips thinned. "I don't see how that's any business of yours."

"Shepard's body is currently being held by agents who are working for the Shadow Broker; you're wanting to see the body first-hand which is understandable, but in asking for that, you're effectively asking for the agents to be dealt with in one way or another. I want to know the nature of your relationship so I can get some idea of how you will act in the field if I decide to help you." Pausing, he cocked his head slightly to the side. "I'm fairly certain you have at least melded with him at some point based on how strongly you reacted to the news, but I need to know if it was more or not."

Despite her irritation at the invasive question, Liara recognized that there was at least a certain level of rational thought behind it. Matriarchs on Illium and elsewhere in the galaxy often liked to give elaborate lessons on the benefits of tempering emotions and the consequences of becoming emotionally compromised. Still, even remembering the lessons of her elders did little to quell the frustration she felt. Letting her head slump downwards, she broke off the staring contest and closed her eyes.

"We…were bond-mates. It was only for a short while, but…" Her voice broke again, tears rushing unbidden to her eyes that she valiantly tried to keep hidden.

"It's alright." Feeling a hand land on and then gently squeeze her shoulder, Liara's head jerked up to meet the blond's gaze once again. Her vision was blurred from tears, but it seemed like he was trying to offer her a comforting look. "I know how it feels to lose someone you love. You should let some of it out now while it's safe to do so."

"I…" Liara paused, feeling tears finally escape her eyes and start to drip down her cheeks. A sob rose up in her chest and despite her effort to push it back down, it quickly escaped her. "I don't…"

"Come on," she heard the blond say, his arm reaching around her shoulders and gently nudging her forward as the tears started flowing faster and the sobs became more frequent. "Let's get you sat down."

* * *

' _I feel like I'm an infant all over again. Benezia would have likely scolded me for hours about breaking down in public.'_ Resting her back against the hallway wall with her knees pulled up to her chest, Liara's gaze remained locked onto the floor as her forehead pressed against the padded armor of her leggings. Several minutes had passed since her tears had dried up, but she still felt far more emotional than usual. _'I wish she was still here; maybe she would have some comforting words to offer.'_

Taking in a deep breath and blowing it out evenly through her mouth, she slowly rose her head back up. Feron had run off somewhere after exchanging some whispered words with the blond, but the human still remained by her side. Despite the lack of privacy his presence caused, she was thankful that he at least remained silent. The last thing she wanted to deal with today was someone teasing her about her emotions.

"Feel any better?"

Looking to her left, Liara found the aforementioned blond sitting beside her, the bags under his eyes looking a bit more pronounced than they did in the nightclub. She promptly forced a small smile. "A little, I think."

"Good," he nodded curtly before sighing. "I know this is a bad time considering what you just heard, but there's more information that we need to talk about."

"I will be fine," Liara stated, easily managing to clamp down on her emotions now that she had let some of them out. "What exactly do we need to discuss? Payment, I presume?"

"No, nothing like that; we're actually going to do this Pro Bono."

"Pro Bono?" Liara questioned, her translator not changing the human's terminology. "I'm afraid I am not familiar with the term."

"Ah, it's Human legal jargon. It basically means that we're doing this for free because we think retrieving Shepard's body would be good for the public."

"…Truly?"

"Yes."

"You charged me 250,000 credits simply for details regarding Shepard's body, but you're going to help me retrieve his body free of charge?" Liara's eyes narrowed. "You will have to forgive me if I do not believe your words have any merit to them."

"I suppose I can do that." The blond's lips curved up into a small smile for the first time since they had met. "Perhaps you will rethink that opinion when you realize that the credits you spoke of have already been returned to your bank account."

Liara was sorely tempted to check her account through her omni-tool, but suppressed the initial urge after a moment. "What do you want out of this situation, then? I may not be an expert on the subject, but even I am well aware that information dealers do not work for free."

"You're right, they don't. I'm not an information dealer."

"Is that so? What exactly are you, then?"

"A Cerberus operative."

"What?!" Liara quickly pushed herself up to her feet, the blond following suit almost immediately. "You're a—"

"Keep your voice down," the human reprimanded softly, but his tone was firm. "I would rather not have the entire station know about my current position."

She begrudgingly did as asked, quickly lowering her yell to a loud whisper. "You told me you were an independent dealer!"

"That was Feron who was in contact with you prior to your arrival, not me. He works with Cerberus for certain projects, but he's independently contracted to do so; he didn't technically lie to you."

"That… You…" Liara bit off, resisting the urge to scream to the heavens. "I will not be dragged into an argument over such meaningless semantics. If you are a Cerberus operative as you claim, then you know I would be even less inclined to believe your offer of free help is genuine than if you were an information dealer; Shepard's team shut down far too many of your organization's operations for me to believe otherwise. What is it that you want?"

The blond held his silence for a few moments, but he eventually inclined his head slightly and spoke. "Cerberus wants the same thing that I imagine you do: John Shepard alive and well again."

"Do you take me for a fool?! There is n—"

"Shepard is the only reason the Citadel is not in _complete_ shambles after the incident with Sovereign," the blond began, raising his voice slightly to interject. "Cerberus possesses an abundance of intelligence sources – sources that have all reported in on the validity of the Reaper threat. We are not fools, we know what is coming and wish to prepare the galaxy to fight against it. My employer is of the opinion that bringing Shepard back and having him on our side would create countless opportunities to strengthen our future defenses; I happen to agree with him on that matter. That is the real reason why my offer of assistance comes with no price tag."

Liara's gaze remained firmly on the man's face, inspecting him closely for any signs of deceit; unfortunately, his expression gave away quite little. He may as well have been an Elcor for what emotions his body language expressed.

"How do I know this is not some sort of elaborate ruse to simply get your hands on the Commander's corpse?

"You don't." After a moment, the blond let a single, humorless chortle echo through his throat. "I hear you're a good shot and that your biotics are nothing to scoff at, so I suppose you can tell yourself that you could always overpower me if it helps get you through the day."

"That is far from an inspiring answer."

"I got discharged from the inspiration department a long time ago, Doctor." The blond smiled softly at his own joke. "My employer is willing to fill you in on the specific details of his plan for Shepard if you're at least willing to meet with him."

As reluctant as Liara was to meet with what was presumably a high-ranking member of Cerberus, the nature of the transaction gave pause to her misgivings. The risks were undeniably high, but the potential reward that it could offer…

"I will meet with him."

"That's good to hear," the man stated, his smile growing wider ever so slightly. "Well then, since I imagine we're likely going to be doing some field work together in the near future, you can feel free to call me Fox."

* * *

"Where are we headed, exactly?"

Following along behind the man she now knew as Fox, Liara kept her senses on high alert. While she was inclined to agree to a tentative partnership with the organization, that didn't mean she wouldn't be taking extra precautions when dealing with anyone affiliated to them. They were far from trustworthy.

"We're going to rendezvous with my backup before we move to one of our current hideouts. It shouldn't take too much longer."

"I fail to see why we didn't secure transport for traveling this far a distance. A thirty minute walk seems excessive in a space station."

"Heh, this isn't your by-the-mill space station; this is Omega – the underbelly of the galaxy." Turning his head over his shoulder, Fox's lips pulled up into a small smirk. "Better to walk on foot here if you're trying to keep things private; this place doesn't offer public transit and taking a private shuttle all but guarantees that someone will be keeping an eye on you for one reason or another."

"I see…" Liara trailed off, letting herself take a moment to absorb the information. "Is th—" she found herself interrupted as her chest bumped into Fox's arm. Glancing in his direction, she saw him holding his arm out in front of her path to stop her from moving forward, his head panning slowly around the room. Old reflexes kicked in immediately and her eyes darted to the surrounding walls of the spacious hallway. Even as she began to seek out potential threats, males of various races – all of whom were clad in a set of blue light-blue armor with a white symbol painted onto their chest – began trickling into the area with their weapons leveled at them. She counted no less than eight of them aiming rifles in her direction and at least six others at her current companion. Blue wisps of energy began visibly radiating off of the skin of her hands as she channeled her energy through her arms.

"What an honor it is to be greeted by so many from the Blue Suns," Fox began, pointedly looking around the area again as he lowered his arms back into a natural position. Despite the concerning situation, his voice seemed almost chipper. As a green-skinned Krogan approached them directly, his pistol leveled steadily on Liara, the blond's gaze centered on him. "Blue Suns with the mighty Krax leading them, no less," he continued, inclining his head slightly to the large creature.

"Can the ass-kissing, Fox; I recommend you use that silver tongue to tell that whore of yours to stand down. If she doesn't keep those biotics in check, I'll make some extra ridges in that skull of hers."

"Stand down." Pivoting to the side, Fox pinned her with a hard stare. "Let me handle this."

' _This could potentially be an elaborate ruse to capture me; if ever there was an ideal time and place, this would likely be it.'_ Letting her eyes shift to meet the blond's own, she once again observed him for any sign of deceit. _'No clear signs of deception,'_ she observed, pointedly noting his lack of sweat and eye movement. After several long, drawn-out moments, she nodded and released the build-up of energy she had been creating.

"Thank you."

"Taking the easy way, huh? Shame, I would've liked to get a good fight in today." Grunting, the Krogan made a beckoning gesture with his hand. At his sign, the members of the Blue Suns – at least all those that were visible, at any rate – approached them. They all lowered their guns, but they still held them at the ready as they encircled the duo.

"I'd rather not have a headache today, Krax. What do you and your boys want?"

"Seems the Shadow Broker is interested on some information about you two." Letting a deep chortle escape him, the corners of his mouth curved slightly upwards. "Seemed awfully interested about you, actually."

' _I wonder how these two know each other.'_ Liara watched the body language of the two males closely. _'They are clearly not friendly.'_

"Is that so?"

"It is." If possible, the Krogan's smile grew a bit more pronounced. "Don't know why; there can't be much that's interesting about a pipsqueak like you."

"You might be surprised." Fox chuckled. "Even pipsqueaks like me can have moments where we're surprisingly strong."

"Heh, I think I'd like to see that."

"I guess it's your lucky day then."

Liara almost didn't believe the words she heard at first, but as she saw the blond's hand reach back and grab the hilt of his blade, she quickly pushed biotic energy back into her arms. Despite the well-honed speed of her reflexes, however, she was beat to the punch. Just as the blade began to be pulled from Fox's sheath, a layer of translucent orange energy coated his body and he dashed forward at inhuman speeds. In less than a second, he had passed through the Krogan and stopped on the alien's other side.

 _CRACK! CRACK CRACK CRACK!_

"GAAAH!" "URK!"

"SNIPERS! TAKE CO—URGH!"

Liara immediately agreed with the now-wounded, potentially dead man's cry; the shots raining down upon the Blue Suns was undoubtedly sniper fire judging by the loud repercussions reverberating down the long hallway. The thought was little more than fleeting, however, as she turned and immediately used her Biotics to slam two Blue Suns members into the nearby wall. Their skulls cracked sickeningly off of the solid wall before they slumped down to the ground.

Momentarily admiring her handiwork, Liara tensed as translucent blue energy flicker in a perfect dome-like shape in front of her. Turning around, her eyes widened at the sight of a human mercenary unloading his rifle in her direction; the only thing saving her from being riddled with bullets being the shield unit embedded into her light armor. Channeling her biotics once more, she easily lifted the man thirty feet into the air before letting the station's artificial gravity work as intended. The man's limbs flailed futilely as he plummeted head-first towards the floor with a horrified cry; a wet _thud_ betrayed what his ultimate fate likely was.

Spinning around, her eyes went wide at the sight of a shotgun mere inches from her face. Glancing up to the individual holding it, she saw a Turian practically glaring holds into her skull, his mandibles twitching wildly.

' _There's no way my shields will hold off a shotgun blast from this range…'_ Liara's thoughts trailed off, her mind immediately settling on an image of the stern, kind-hearted human she had fallen in love with even as she gathered her energy for what would likely be a futile attempt at survival. _'I am sorry, Shepard.'_

 _SQUEALCH_

The sound as well as the sudden splash of warm liquid on her face tore her out of her thoughts. The Turian still stood before her, but a katana was now sticking out through his skull with the tip of it mere inches from her nose; blue blood dripped from the weapon to the floor – the color contrasting harshly with the black and red coloration of the blade. Without any ceremony, the bladed weapon was quickly pulled out from the Turian's skull and his body crumpled lifelessly to the floor

"Are you alright?" Standing just behind where the Turian had been, Fox flicked his blade to remove the blood that had gathered on it before sheathing it with practiced ease. Looking around, Liara saw several of the mercenaries – the now-headless Krax included – with a mortal wound that had clearly been dealt by a blade; the others she hadn't personally dealt with all bore large bullet wounds from sniper fire.

"I am unharmed."

"Good. My back-up has confirmed the area is secure, so we're out of the woods for now. Sorry if telling you to stand down put you off-guard at first; my people weren't in position just yet so I had to stall for a few more seconds."

"That is understandable," Liara admitted with some reluctance. "Still, I would appreciate some manner of warning beforehand in the future."

"Guess we'll have to think of a way to do that silently then." Shrugging, Fox's lips pulled up into a slight smile again. "By the way, you have a little something right around here," he continued with a wave of his hand. "Might wanna wipe that off when you can."

"…You gestured over the entirety of your face."

"Why yes, yes I did."

* * *

"This does not look to be a very secure facility…"

"That's the whole point."

"I see." Following along behind Fox, Liara eyed the seemingly run-down building with a bit of unease. "You purposely choose locations that don't seem suspicious, then?"

"Not always as I'm sure you know well enough, but it's a pretty standard practice on Omega. It's hard enough to get a single person with high security onto the station, so it would be absurdly difficult to set up a facility that would meet our usual standards."

Moving forward, the duo quickly approached the door to the facility. Bringing up his right arm, the familiar form of an Omni-tool surrounded Fox's limb. Using his free hand, he tapped a few buttons on the device before waving it in front of a small scanner that was built into the wall.

" _Identification acknowledged."_

With a slight hissing sound, the doors to the building slid open. Stepping inside after her companion, Liara's eyes almost immediately landed upon the three other individuals who were already in the room. Two large human men – one blond, one a redhead – were conversing softly with one another off to the side; they were clad in a suit of heavy armor that was painted white with a Cerberus logo painted on the portion covering their left pectoral. The third person, meanwhile, was a black-haired woman whose white and black suit clung to her body almost as tightly as her own skin-tight armor. The black belt hanging loosely around her waist contained a pistol, but she otherwise looked to be unarmed. Still, the very air she gave off made it clear that she was in charge.

"Took you long enough," the woman said with a smirk. "I was just wondering whether or not I would have to go and find you."

"You know I wouldn't be able to resist being lured here by that marvelous sense of humor of yours."

"I've found that impeccable aim is far more important a trait to develop than witty humor." Turning her head, the woman briefly regarded Liara before returning her gaze to the blond. "What all did you brief her on?"

"I'm sure you were listening in to the entire conversation yourself, Miranda. Don't make me repeat myself for no reason." Moving off to the side, Fox slid the sheath for his katana to his hip before easing himself down into one of the chairs that lined the hallway. Once he had settled himself, he caught Liara's gaze. "Go ahead with her," he jerked his head towards the only other female in the room. "I'll see you when you get out."

"Get out of what, exactly?"

"A meeting with our leader," Miranda spoke up. "The Illusive Man would like to speak with you personally."

* * *

"Step in there whenever you're ready."

"In there?" Gazing into the darkness of the large, empty room before her, Liara turned an accusatory gaze towards the woman at her side. "There is no one there."

"No, there isn't. It's a projection chamber," Miranda explained evenly. Arcing a brow, her accent grew a little thicker as she continued. "You didn't honestly think the leader of Cerberus would personally set foot on Omega, did you?"

"You are the one who claimed he wished to personally meet with me."

"I did and he does. If you'll just step inside, you'll see what I mean." Miranda rolled her eyes in exasperation when she remained still. "If we wanted to capture you, we would have set up a trap in the lobby before you got here."

Reluctantly acknowledging the woman's point, Liara cautiously stepped forward. Hearing the doors slide shut behind her, she let her eyes roam over the dark corners of the room in an attempt to spot anything that seemed out of place; fortunately, nothing seemed particularly suspicious.

Without any forewarning, a burst of bright light made her raise her hand to cover her eyes as they quickly attempted to adjust to the sudden change in lighting. As she regained her vision, she could see a the brightly lit video feed of a star system that she was unfamiliar with; in front of said video feed, meanwhile, was a grey-haired man seated in an rather luxurious-looking chair.

"Doctor T'soni," the man greeted without bothering to turn around. Smoke slowly rose up into the air as it was created from the lit cigarette in his left hand. "It's a pleasure to meet someone of your reputation."

' _It is rather hard to believe that he is the man responsible for Cerberus.'_

"…Thank you, but I do not believe I can say the same under the circumstances."

"Understandable given the many topics on which we inevitably disagree." Slowly, the man's chair turned around to reveal his face. Clad in a sharp-looking black suit, his glowing blue eyes drew her attention immediately. He looked at to be least fifty or sixty by Earth years, but he wore his age quite well. "Nevertheless, I believe we will be able to find some common ground on which we can agree to work together."

Liara nearly objected on principal as she recalled the horrid things she had seen in Cerberus facilities in the past, but remembering the blond's words from earlier gave her pause.

"I was told you want Shepard alive and well again."

"That is correct. I assume Miss Lawson briefed you on the situation?"

"No," Liara stated, quickly deducing that he was likely referring to the lone female operative in the building. "I was briefed by a man who went by the name Fox."

"I see. All things considered, it's rather fortunate that is the case." Lowering his hand, the Illusive Man put out his cigarette and pushed himself up to his feet. "You're likely far more informed than I would have expected."

"Why are you wanting to help Shepard?"

"Commander Shepard is one of the greatest and strongest embodiments of our species. After the conflict with Sovereign on the Citadel, he is a galactic hero and a symbol of humanity's strength; above all, however, he is a symbol of the impossible challenges our people can overcome. Whether he's dead or alive at the moment, we want his remains returned to human custody. No matter his current condition, I believe we have the resources necessary to bring him back into fighting shape."

Despite herself, Liara felt a faint trace of hope blossom within her chest at the man's words. Still, the more logical parts of her mind went rampant with questions.

"If that is the situation, then what exactly do you need me for? It sounds as if you intend to reclaim his body regardless of my feelings on the matter."

"You are correct, I intend to see his remains reclaimed no matter the cost. This would be a rather simple matter to have resolved under normal circumstances, but I'm sure you can personally attest to how unique the commander was. As you can likely imagine, we are not the only organization that has a desire to get our hands on Shepard's body."

"You're speaking of the Shadow Broker?" Recalling the information Fox had told her once again, she offered the name up for discussion. The Illusive Man looked a bit surprised, but he quickly wiped any sign of the emotion off of his face.

"Among others, yes, but he is by far the most credible threat to this operation's success. For some reason, it would seem that he has partnered up with some old friends of yours." Reaching down, he pressed a button on the arm of his chair that promptly changed the video feed that had still been up on the wall. Instead of the star system, it now showed an oddly shaped spaceship that had haunted her dreams more than anything else in her lifetime.

"Collectors," she muttered, her fists clenching involuntarily.

"Indeed."

"What would a bunch of slavers want with a dead body?"

"Likely the same thing they were after when they destroyed the Normandy, I would wager. Unfortunately, while my presumption is that it has something to do with Shepard, even I am unaware as to what exactly their objective is. Regardless of their motives, however, various sources of mine have recently confirmed that they're working together with the Shadow Broker. That's why I want your assistance on this matter."

Watching as the man slowly eased himself back down into his chair, Liara's mind reeled with possibilities. The very fact that the Collectors were after Shepard's body all but confirmed the decision she was ready to make.

"No matter our differences, I believe we can both agree that it would be catastrophic if the Collectors got their hands on Shepard's remains. I'm told you have a remarkable mind and are no slouch in terms of combat potential, so I want you to work alongside my team on this. Will I be able to count on your assistance?"

Liara let the silence draw out to the point of discomfort, her thoughts still going wild. Cerberus was a flawed and evil organization, but the fact that their current goals were so in-line with her own was not lost on her. It was only a great deal of internal debate that she spoke up.

"You will never be able to count on me for anything…but Shepard always will.

"That's good enough for me."

* * *

 **End**

* * *

 **Post-Notes**

 **I doubt this story will get updated anytime in the foreseeable future, but a Naruto/ME crossover has been floating around in my head for so long that I simply wanted to get some of what I had written out there. Hope you all enjoyed.**


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